Boston Celtics hold off Indiana Pacers rally, Los Angeles Lakers slump again

NEW YORK – It is only natural that a team will rely on their offence to win games, but the Boston Celtics took another approach on Jan 30 – being defensively solid.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference leaders held off a ferocious second-half rally to defeat the Indiana Pacers 129-124 at their TD Garden home.

“You have to be able to win games with your defence,” coach Joe Mazzulla said on ESPN, adding that a win like this will allow his team to learn how not to lean too heavily on their offence.

“It’s a tough balance for us because we always talk about how the game’s connected. You can’t have one without the other. But there are moments when they both have to be elite. We had really good defence down the stretch and made some winning plays.”

The Celtics cruised to a 20-point first-half lead against a Pacers line-up bolstered by the return of Tyrese Haliburton.

However, Indiana came to life in the third quarter, outscoring Boston 37-25 to briefly edge into the lead before the Celtics regained control of the contest and closed out victory in the fourth.

“Credit to Indiana, they played really, really fast. They tried to wear us out, but we found a way to win,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who finished with 25 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Jayson Tatum led the Boston scoring with 30 points, but it was the power forward’s defensive prowess that helped seal the team’s league-best 37th win of the season.

He came up with two big blocks to deny Indiana down the stretch just when the Pacers were threatening to tie it up.

“Each and every night, we try to keep our standard, and our defence is a part of that,” Brown said of Boston’s defensive display.

All five Boston starters finished in double figures, with Derrick White scoring 24 points while Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday added 17 points apiece.

“We’ve got to be able to fight through everything,” Holiday added.

“Fight through expectations. Fight through being up 20 and somebody having a great third quarter and finishing games. If it was easy the whole time, what’s the fun in that?”

Aaron Nesmith led Indiana’s scoring with 26 points, while Pascal Siakam chipped in with 23. Haliburton returned to the line-up after recovering from injury to score 13 points with 10 assists and three rebounds.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers slumped to an emphatic loss, going down 138-122 to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Lakers, beaten 135-119 in Houston on Jan 29, were given a torrid time for a second straight night by the Hawks’ potent offence.

Trae Young finished with 26 points, including six three-pointers, while Dejounte Murray scored 24. Bogdan Bogdanovic provided a shooting clinic from the bench with 18 points, including four of nine from three-point range.

Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 28 points, while LeBron James scored 20 points at State Farm Arena.

The Lakers, missing the injured Anthony Davis, dropped to 24-25 after the loss and are ninth in the Western Conference table.

Lakers star James could not hide his frustration after his team’s latest defeat.

“We can on any given night beat any team in the NBA – and then on any given night we can get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA. That’s where we are,” he lamented.

Over at Chase Centre, Stephen Curry conjured a 37-point masterclass as the Golden State Warriors sent the Philadelphia 76ers spinning to a fourth straight defeat with a 119-107 home victory.

The Sixers were left sweating on an injury to reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, who limped off in the fourth quarter after Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell heavily on his left knee. AFP, REUTERS